Historical Foundations of Criminal Investigation

Social & Economic Backdrop of Early Criminal Investigation

• Europe’s Industrial Revolution (mid-$18^{th}$–$19^{th}$ centuries)

  • Massive rural-to-urban migration → overcrowded towns, poverty, and a measurable “crime wave.”

  • Law-enforcement resources overwhelmed; new, sometimes ad-hoc, tactics appear.

“Thief-Catchers” in Pre-Professional England

• Two distinct classes were employed by authorities:

  • Hirelings – purely mercenary motives.

  • Social climbers – betrayed criminal partners to improve personal status.

• Concept encapsulated by the adage “set a thief to catch a thief.”

Jonathan Wild (c. $1682$–$1725$) – Infamous Hireling

• Managed a London brothel that doubled as headquarters for thieves.

• Simultaneously served London authorities as an undercover operative while protecting/thriving off criminals.

• Realized larger profits by brokering the return of stolen goods to victims/police than by fencing them.

• Hanged eventually, exposing limits of unregulated thief-catcher model.

Parish Constables, Watches & Early Uniformed Experiments

• Watch of London (night-only patrol) → evolved into the Old Charleys.

  • Origin dated to $1253$; survived until $1829$.

• Residents paid parish constables directly → variable quality & corruption.

Henry & John Fielding and the Bow Street Runners

• Henry Fielding (appointed magistrate, Westminster, $1748$)

  • Operated from Bow Street home/office; coordinated crime-fighting network.

  • Built alliances with pawnbrokers (stolen-property lists, tip incentives).

• Initiated selection of parish constables for proactive “tracker” duties.

• By early $1750$s the group earned nickname “Mr. Fielding’s People,” later Bow Street Runners.

  • Compensation: percentage of court fines (“thief-taker” rewards), not salaries.

• John Fielding (half-brother; blind) became co-magistrate; earned moniker “blind beak.”

• Innovations & legacy

  • Horse patrol (authorized $1760$–$1800$) → permanent foot patrol.

  • Distinctive red vests, blue jackets: forerunners of uniformed British police.

  • Demonstrated value of investigative specialization inside policing.

Eugène-François Vidocq (Father of Modern Criminal Investigation)

• Born Arras, France, $1775$; delinquent youth, repeated imprisonments (~$20$ years).

• $1809$: Surrendered, became prison informant (Bicêtre) for Paris police chief Jean Henry.

• $1811$: Released; posed as escaped convict, infiltrated underworld.

• Brigade de Sûreté formed to support him; Napoleon’s decree (Dec $1813$) → Sûreté Nationale.

  • Initial agents: $4$; expanded to $28$ by $1827$; monitored $1,200$ ex-convicts; executed $400$–$500$ warrants annually.

  • Arrests claimed (first $7$ years): >$4,000$.

• Methodological firsts

  • Systematic undercover work, anthropometrics, ballistics, meticulous crime-scene preservation.

  • Record cards with aliases, MO, physical descriptors → precursor to Bertillon system.

  • Maintained small forensic laboratory.

• Post-police career: Founded Le bureau des renseignements (private agency, $1833$) employing ex-cons; eventually collapsed amid legal troubles (fraud, extortion).

• Died $May\ 11,\ 1857$ (age $82$).

Creation of the London Metropolitan Police (Met) – $1829$

• Championed by Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel; officers nicknamed bobbies/peelers.

• Features

  • First paid, full-time English police (~$1,000$ uniformed).

  • Strict recruitment standards (height, weight, literacy, moral character).

  • Replaced ad hoc constables / Bow Street Runners (viewed as inefficient).

• Detective Bureau added $1842$ (kept low profile $\approx$$35$ years to avoid “French-style repression” fears).

Personal-Identification Technology Surge (Late $19^{th}$ Century)

• Alphonse Bertillon (Paris Police) → Bertillonage

  • Combined standard photography (“mug shot”) with $11$–$20$ skeletal/physical measurements (e.g., ear shape, eye color) assumed constant after maturity.

• Fingerprints

  • Research by William J. Herschel & Henry Faulds (Asia, mid-$1840$s–$1880$s).

  • Sir Francis Galton formalized uniqueness/permanence; Scotland Yard adopted $1901$.

Scotland Yard – Evolution of Met Headquarters & CID

• Origin site: $4$ Whitehall Place; rear courtyard named Great Scotland Yard (once hosted Scottish royalty).

• Early Roles: VIP protection, community patrols, HR, public affairs.

• Plainclothes agents introduced $1842$; public distrust (“spies”) softened after high-profile successes.

• Celebrity detective: Inspector Charles Frederick Field (met Dickens; model for Inspector Bucket in Bleak House).

• Scandal $1877$ (detective heads indicted for betting conspiracy) → Howard Vincent’s reforms.

  • Creation of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) $1878$ – centralized, respected detective branch.

• Milestones

  • “Bloody Sunday” $Nov\ 13,\ 1887$: $2,000$ officers dispersed Trafalgar Square protest (>${100}$ casualties).

  • Headquarters moves: Victoria Embankment (“New Scotland Yard,” $1890$) → current $20$-story site near Parliament ($1967$).

• Present-day stats: ~$30,000$ officers; jurisdiction $620\ mi^{2}$; population $7.2$ million.

• CID fingerprint methods influenced FBI procedures.

Criminal Investigation in the United States (Chronology & Institutions)

Municipal Police Foundations

• First U.S. city forces:

  • Boston $1837$

  • New York $1844$

  • Philadelphia $1854$

• By $1870$s nearly all major cities had departments.

• Socio-political catalysts: urban violence, religious/ethnic clashes, slavery debates; investigative work seen as politically risky and often favoring those who could pay.

Supplemental Rural & Frontier Enforcement

• County sheriffs filled gaps outside cities.

• Texas Rangers (oldest state LE body)

  • Call-to-arms by Stephen F. Austin $1823$; formalized $1833$; dissolved during Reconstruction then reinstated.

  • Modern division (Texas DPS): $213$ employees ( $150$ commissioned Rangers, $63$ support ); $3,445$ investigations in $2013$ → $1,781$ felony & $177$ misdemeanor arrests.

Pinkerton National Detective Agency (Founded $1850$)

• Allan Pinkerton pioneered private-sector investigation.

• Innovations: first organized national structure (later emulated by FBI); rogues’ gallery (photos, MO, associates).

• Foiled $1861$ assassination plot against President-elect Lincoln (train route to inauguration).

• Civil War: Pinkerton headed Union secret-service operations.

• Later controversies: anti-union violence & espionage (e.g., Jay Gould railroad strike, $1905$ Idaho governor case).

• Labor-spying ruled unconstitutional $1937$ → industrial division dissolved.

Prohibition Era (Volstead Act, $1920$–$1933$)

• Act outlawed manufacture, transport, sale—not purchase/consumption—of alcohol.

• Smuggling (bootlegging) & home brewing flourished; rival gangs fought for “speakeasy” control by $1924$.

• Widespread police corruption via bribes; enforcement under Treasury Department, not yet FBI.

Formation & Professionalization of the FBI

• Began as Justice Department’s Bureau of Investigation $1907$; limited duties.

• Scope expanded with interstate stolen-car laws.

• J. Edgar Hoover appointed director $1924$

  • Purged corruption, depoliticized bureau.

  • Raised hiring standards; reduced field offices/headcount.

• Post-Hoover revelations (after $1972$ death): covert files on politicians, activists, etc.

• Today: one of many federal agencies setting benchmarks in investigative professionalism.